UNAI EMERY had unlikely heroes Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara to thank for three crucial points as Villa turned the heat on their Champions League rivals.
The Spaniard celebrated his 100th Premier League game in charge of Villa with a hard-earned 54th win.
Konsa pounced to grab his third goal of the season but it was Kamara who supplied the cherry on the top of the cake with his first Premier goal - at the 69th attempt!
The win saw Villa leapfrog Manchester City and move to within two points of second-placed Arsenal as Villa set a new club record with their 32nd win of the season in all competitions.
Emery's men came into this game brimming with confidence…. and a burning sense of injustice.
They were unbeaten in 20 home games across all competitions - their best run for 48 years - and had won their last seven on the spin at Villa Park.
But there were empty seats as many fans couldn't make the hastily re-arranged date after the Premier League allowed Spurs more time to prepare for Wednesday's Europa League final.
Ange Postecoglou wrapped his stars up in cotton wool ahead of their midweek trip to Bilbao.
Guglielmo Vicario, Rodrigo Bentancur, Brennan Johnson, Richarlison, Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro were all on the bench, while Sergio Reguilon started a Premier League game for Spurs for the first time since April 2022.
That meant the spotlight fell on Son Heung-min who faced a final audition ahead of Wednesday's cup final.
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
The Spurs skipper only returned from a foot injury for the last half hour of his side's 2-0 loss against Crystal Palace.
With just five days to go, this was his last chance to stake his claim for a starting place in Bilbao.
And he certainly gave Matty Cash a torrid time of it.
He burst past the startled full-back after five minutes but lacked that vital match sharpness and allowed the Villa man to recover and take the pace off his shot.
At the other end Antonin Kinsky got a vital touch to divert a cross away from Ollie Watkins' waiting head before John McGinn fired just over after dispossessing Djed Spence.
Villa were finding Spurs a tough nut to crack and Son was beginning to find his feet.
He chopped inside Cash before rifling a ferocious effort just over, then produced a fine pass to set Wilson Odobert clear.
The ball was worked wide to Mathys Tel who drilled in a low cross which Odobert turned goalwards with a cute Cruyff-flick but Emi Martinez reacted superbly to block with his left boot.
It was end to end stuff and Kinsky surpassed himself with a full-length save to prevent Morgan Rogers' delicate flick from finding the far corner of his net.
Villa's frustration was growing and Cash was booked for waving an imaginary yellow card at Pape Sarr, before Archie Gray joined him for clattering Ollie Watkins.
Marco Asensio then came close with a shot which flashed inches wide of the far post.
But at the break Postecoglou would have been the happier boss with the stalemate.
Ezri Konsa and Tel got the second half off to a bad-tempered start when they clashed and both captains were called in to have a word.
Tel escaped with a warning despite flashing an elbow at Konsa and Emery tapped a finger to his temple to warn his players to think about who was benefitting from the disruption.
But the tension was suddenly lifted just before the hour as Villa broke the deadlock with their 16th set-piece goal of the season in the Prem.
McGinn's deep corner was headed down by Watkins at the back post and Ezri Konsa spun to steer the ball beyond Kinsky from inside the six-yard-box.
That goal lifted a weight off Villa and Kinsky did well to deny Watkins before McGinn fired just wide as Emery's men pushed for the second goal needed to kill-off Spurs.
It finally arrived after 73 minutes from the unlikeliest scorer as Kamara broke his Villa duck.
Rogers fed him at the edge of the Spurs box and Asensio created space with a clever decoy run and Kamara cashed in to slam the ball beyond Kinsky from the edge of the box.